What if ?
by writer xjx
Summary: Set a little while after "Donut Run". Keith decides to forgive Veronica, but his reasons give her some thinking to do.


"Hey honey can I have a word?"

Veronica looked up from her homework surprised. This was the first time her dad had spoken to her since she helped Duncan escape with his baby girl, and had made it abundantly clear that he could no longer trust her after she lied to his face.

"Sure, does this mean you're talking to me again?" she replied

"That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about." Keith began "Now I'm not saying that you have my complete trust again, because lets face it that's going to take some time."

Veronica nodded her head in agreement, she knew it was going to take some time and she was willing to take what she could get.

"But I want you to know that I do trust you. It took me a while to realise that had the circumstances been different you wouldn't be here" he finished, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear lovingly.

"What do you mean, had the circumstances been different?" Veronica asked confused "you mean had the FBI caught on?"

"No honey that's not what I meant. I meant had it been Logan instead of Duncan, you wouldn't have helped him; you would have gone with him. Look I got to go, my guys just about to hit the border, I'll be 3 maybe 4 days tops" Keith finished kissing Veronica on the head before walking out of the apartment.

Veronica sat there stunned at her father's words. After about 10 minutes Veronica sprang up grabbed her keys and headed for the beach.

As she walked across the sand her father's words were still echoing in her head; "_had it been Logan instead of Duncan, you would have gone with him"_, words that were closely followed by the million dollar question, she was trying so hard not to think about; would she? Was her father right? If it had been Logan and not Duncan would she have gone with him?'

Veronica was so lost in thought that she did not realise that she had stopped and was just looking out across the ocean at the setting sun, nor did she realise the approaching figure.

"Hey"

The voice broke her from her thoughts. She did not need to look to know who it was; she would know him, his voice, his smell, his presence anywhere.

"Hey" she replied quietly, turning her head to face him. Logan's face was a picture of concern and knowing.

"You ok? You've been standing here, just looking for a while" Logan's voice held the same amount of concern that showed on his face.

"Yeah, it's just the whole Duncan thing, my Dad said something earlier and it's really made me think, you know?" she replied sighing she knew there no point in lying to him he would have been able to see right through it, and Logan being Logan would have pulled her up on it.

"He still mad at you for helping DK escape?" he asked

"No, actually he's decided to forgive me." She replied frowning

"Ok, you wanna explain that one, because I'm at a total loss as to why you're upset about that."

"I'm not upset I'm just… thinking. And it's not that fact that he's forgiven me, it's the _reason_ he has, that has got me like this."

"What was the reason?"

Veronica raised her eyes to meet his.

"Me?" Logan asked amazed "I'm the reason your dad decided to forgive you?" Noticing Veronica's sigh, he knew she wasn't joking about Keith Mars' reason for forgiving his daughter; he just couldn't fathom why _he _was the reason.

Veronica knew what Logan was thinking she didn't need him to say it; instead she told him the words that had been running around her head.

"He said… he said that…he was just happy I was still here, because… because he said that, if… if it had been you and not Duncan… I wouldn't…I wouldn't have helped you…" She saw the pain flicker across his face at these words, "I would have gone with you." She finished, not having the strength to meet his eyes for fear of what she might have seen in them.

"Yeah, well I'd probably asked you to go with me, you know, to help me all the way, I'm sure you would have done the same for Duncan if he asked…"

"He did" Veronica interrupted, "he did ask me to go with him, he even asked me if after maybe a couple of months or a year or so, to join him. I told him I couldn't." She said looking him in the eye.

"Oh" Logan said quietly

The silence that followed filled with tension, at everything they weren't saying, everything they wanted to say, and everything they wanted to ask.

She felt Logan's hand under her chin, and took a deep breath as he brought her face up to look at him, she knew what he was going to ask, and what scared her the most was the fact that she didn't need to think about the answer to know it.

"Would you? After everything that's happened between us, if it _was _me and I asked you to come with me, would you?" he asked not taking his eyes away from hers.

"Yes, if you asked me to run with you, I would." She replied lowering her walls for him.

"You would?" he asked again, a smile beginning to light his face.

"Always" she replied, returning his smile. She then said the words that she knew he had been waiting nearly a year to hear. "I love you, Logan"

Before she could take another breath, Logan had pulled her to him, crashing their lips together, she responded immediately with more passion than she had ever felt, matching him with intensity. As they broke apart Logan looked in to her eyes wearing the same smile, and his eyes reflecting the love she felt for him.

"I love you too, Veronica"


End file.
